Shared Burden
by Darthkvzn
Summary: Heroes have a tendency to try and shoulder their burdens by themselves...but it doesn't always pan out that way for them. Especially when your love interest is an outspoken goth activist. -ON HIATUS-
1. The Burden

**Hello! Welcome to this nifty little story. Shared Burden is a short story meant to set up for my first crossover fic, in this case, Danny Phantom (duh) and Teen Titans. I don't subscribe to the seemingly popular idea that Danny has to lose everything and everyone to meet the team of young heroes...so I'm taking a different approach. First chapter is super short, second should be at least double the length, so expect that sometime in the next week! - Darthkvzn**

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><p>It's said that a person is defined by their actions. If that were really true, Sam thought bitterly, Danny wouldn't still need to keep his identity a secret from the world. The greatest teenage superhero the world had ever known, and he was still the unpopular kid in school, known only for being clumsy, awkward, and having even less popular friends.<p>

Almost four years ago, she'd convinced Danny to walk into an inactive portal into the dimension known as the Ghost Zone, and, as a result, caused him to turn into the world's second half ghost, half human hybrid. He'd taken upon himself the challenge of protecting the innocent (and mostly idiotic) citizens of the ghost capital of the world, Amity Park. Over the next few years he'd become the superhero she knew he would be as soon as he stepped out of that portal with snow-white hair and glowing, green eyes.

The price had been high, though. Seven was her most hated number, and not without reason. Seven times had Danny cheated death. Pariah Dark, Plasmius, the Fright Knight…they'd all gotten close to killing the one she loved. To admit she felt guilty even after the years of reassurance that this was what had to happen was an understatement…which brings us to the current predicament through which she was going.

She'd had the epiphany about a year ago, after a particularly trying battle for Danny. Although most ghosts were smart enough not to trifle with the powerful hybrid, some would still try. Sometimes they'd even band together to attempt his destruction. They'd never succeeded, and she was fairly confident they never would…but it would be foolish to think them harmless. That night, Danny had taken a beating the likes he hadn't since he fought Dark Dan. He'd fought hordes of enemies, and it had certainly taken a toll on him. Sam was used to taking care of his various wounds, making the task easy on his supernatural healing factor by providing bandages and stitching. It had taken a lot of looking it up on the internet and really just winging it, but she was proud to claim to be a good makeshift nurse. The ectoplasmic blood all over her floor was a testament to the challenge she'd received then. Still, Danny had taken it in stride, knowing she would worry about him to no end.

"Shame there aren't any more ghostly heroes, huh? Could've used the help on this one" –he'd said, as an off-hand remark. She'd scoffed it off, but the idea had stuck. What if he wasn't?

There was Danielle, of course. Precisely that night, Danny had been looking for his gender-skewed clone. He'd saved her, and during the last year, eased her into the life of a superheroine, introducing her to the town – and its enemies. She'd quickly had the town eating from her hand, as her childish antics were a nice contrast to Danny's maturing personality.

The Red Huntress was there, too. Valerie Gray had learned Danny's secret about a month after learning of the existence of hybrids. She'd come to terms with it, surprisingly. For such a hot headed woman, she could be reasonable when having to admit to being utterly wrong in her beliefs. She hadn't really become a part of Team Phantom, but she no longer shot Danny, and would even ally with him on occasion.

Then, there were, of course, the Fentons. Not the most competent of ghost hunters, but they knew their way around technology. For all of Danny's powers, he still carried a Fenton Thermos around.

But…it just wasn't enough. Danny clearly didn't want to share his responsibilities, often putting himself in the way of danger, protecting Dani from harm, and of course, Tucker and herself. He really seemed resigned to shoulder the weight of the job by himself as much as possible.

Well she wasn't gonna have it. She loved the man, damn it. It had taken more than two years after her crush started for her to admit it to herself (and of course, Tucker). She knew she wanted to spend her life with him, and, while patient, she wasn't about to risk letting him die on her.

She was going to share that risk.

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><p><strong>What did you think? Good, bad, meh? This short introductory chapter is meant to set the tone and setting of the story. Hopefully it interested you? Tune in soon if it did! - Darthkvzn<strong>


	2. The Dark Wraith

**Hello there! If you're reading this, then I've captured your interest. I hope I have, at least. I think this story has a lot of potential, so please stick with me! I promise I'll do my best. Without any further ado, here! - Darthkvzn**

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><p>Ghosts have been a staple of human mythos since the ability to imagine was developed. Most people don't believe in them, and those that do, live their whole lives without seeing one.<p>

Unless you lived in Amity Park, that is.

Joey had certainly seen his fair share. Born and raised in Amity, at the young age of 12 he'd seen his first ghost. A freshman in Casper High, he'd quickly lost his blissful ignorance of the supernatural when a giant, ghostly meat monster almost destroyed half the school, until this other teenaged ghost defeated it with the help of a soup thermos.

This may sound weird, but in the Ghost Capital of the World (as mayor Masters had so lovingly nicknamed the city), this was a regular day. Except for the fact that the teenaged ghost was now a state-wide known superhero known as Danny Phantom, and beloved by 95% of the town's population, and even those that didn't love the guy would grudgingly admit that they'd rather get behind him when a ghost attacked than have him handed over to the Guys in White.

Everyone in the town had a basic understanding of ghosts. They might not know the science behind it, like, say, the Fentons, but they knew what to do in case they saw one, got attacked by one, or suspected ecto-activity. Tonight, though, the lessons he'd learned had been useless at best.

You'd think in a chaotic city like this, the people would be wise enough not to wander the park at 10 pm or later. But the night was very nice, and ghost attacks had been minor enough that Danny Phantom hadn't made an appearance. The ghost boy (the moniker was getting old, the dude didn't look childish at _all_ lately) had been very inactive for the past couple of weeks. Rumor had it that the younger looking ghost girl he'd introduced to the town as his sister would replace him as the town's signature hero, as the ghostly attacks had gotten, for lack of a better term, too "weak" for Danny Phantom to require any assistance with. He'd started to spread his area of protection, the neighboring towns also benefiting from his heroics. Dani, the beloved ghost girl, hadn't made an appearance either. The only sighting today had been of the Red Huntress, and the skirmish had been brief. So Joey had elected to go out.

There was no one around, of course. He was calmly listening to the music on his mp3 player, and the moon was a beautiful sliver over him. Now there's a not commonly known fact about ghosts. The more powerful, the more they affected their surroundings. The more common change was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, a bright day turning darker, as if an eclipse was occurring. The Fentons explained this to the townsfolk as "ghosts bringing a little piece of the Ghost Zone with them". The extremely powerful ghosts, like that Ghost King, could even make reality seem like it was bending (which was quite possibly happening). It seemed like something they could "turn off" at will, too. Danny Phantom was certainly powerful, yet he no longer changed the ambient around him, something which he used to do. Ghosts in general would give every human chills, not only from the drop in temperature, but as an instinctual reaction, telling you to run the heck away. When in combination, these changes would tell you what kind of ghost was near you. The Phantoms, for instance, made the temperature drop _a lot_. They didn't give the chills anymore, which was probably a learned response from seeing them save people all the time, and being saved himself.

Take another regular, like Skulker. He was powerful, and dangerous. The ambient lighting would change, and you just felt the need to get away and let the heroes do their thing.

The sudden change in ambiance made Joey genuinely afraid for his life for the first time in months.

He looked around warily, trying to keep a low profile. He needed to run; the last thing he needed was to run _towards_ the threat. He took off his earphones, trying to listen for sounds that could help him figure out who it was and what to do. Hearing humming to his left, he slowly turned.

To his credit, she was beautiful like no one he'd ever seen before, undead or not.

She seemed to be staring at the moon, sitting on a particularly tall rock. She wore a grey dress, torn at the edges. It reached her knees, revealing what appeared to be long legs, and was barefoot. Her skin was as pale as a cadaver's, and her hair, while black, had an otherworldly purple sheen to it. If that wasn't enough evidence, though, the strong, white outline around her proved the obvious: she was a ghost, and a powerful one at that.

He felt like a peeping tom, for some reason. She looked like a young woman, probably no more than 20. Age was tricky with ghosts, obviously, so for all he knew, she could be 500 years old. And the older the ghost, the better the likelihood this ghost's power was dangerous. So despite her beauty, he kept still; she hadn't spotted him.

There was…something about her, though. Not really a feeling of familiarity. There was no way he knew any girl this beautiful. It was somewhat like the feeling Phantom gave off, a sense of comfort, or trust.

Everything about her should have scared him off. Instead, he crept closer.

Of course, the girl noticed him. He stood still as the figure slowly turned to face him, floating a couple of inches off the ground. She looked at him, her expression perfectly neutral. Her lips were purple, but not like a bruise, more like a drowning victim's. She was definitely pretty. Her eyes, though…

Ever see those lights that are supposed to be black in night clubs? The ones that look purple, instead? Her irises were precisely that color. Ghosts usually had glowing eyes. Part of their supernatural nature, probably. Heck, Phantom's eyes were radioactive green. This girl took it to the extreme. When he explained it to a friend later, his only explanation was that they shone brightly, yet absorbed light. Paradoxical.

The girl's expression did not change, but she cocked her head slightly. Only then did he notice: her hair, though shoulder length, flowed slightly as if a gentle breeze were moving it. There was no wind, though, so that was most likely a feature of herself. She crept closer to him. And thus she spoke.

_"Pleasant night, isn't it mortal?"_

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><p><strong>How was that? Cool? Not? Let me know! Any theories on the ghost lady? I'd love to hear it! If you can, please review! It helps out a lot. Expect another chapter within the next 7 days! Thank you and I hope you stick around for the next! - Darthkvzn<strong>


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